Volunteers Dedicated to Free Genealogy
This county is available for adoption.

We're looking for folks who share our desire to put data online and are
interested in helping this project be as successful as we can make it.
If you are interested joining our group as County Host for this website, or any of our websites, view our
Volunteer Information
page.
A desire to transcribe data and know-how to make a basic webpage is required.

In the meantime, we'd be very happy to accept any data you'd care
to contribute and would like to see displayed on this site. We're looking for "raw data" - the birth/death/marriage
records, obituaries, cemetery headstone readings, biographies, county histories, census data, pensions and other
military data.

WE REGRET THAT WE ARE UNABLE TO DO PERSONAL RESEARCH FOR
YOU. All data we come across will be added to this website, so please keep checking back.

Fayette County was founded in 1824. It
was named in honor of Marquis de Layette. He was a French nobleman, patriot, and distinguished soldier who during
the Revolutionary War rendered invaluable service to the American Colonies.

The soil is generally a dark loam in the southern part, resting
on a red clay subsoil, but in the western portion of the county
the subsoil is of a lighter color. The northern half of the
county is level, but the southern half is rolling.
Somerville, the county town, has a population of 834.
Besides Somerville, there are six other towns in the county,
to-wit: LaGrange, Moscow, Rossville, Macon, Oakland aud
Hickory Wythe.

The county is watered, by the Loosa Hatchie and the north
fork of Wolf River, which are both good mill streams.
Timber is abundant, and of good quality, consisting of oak,
poplar, hickory, ash, cypress, gum, etc.
The principal agricultural products are corn, wheat, oats,
hay, cotton, Irish potatoes, sweet potatoes and rye.
Its educational institutions are the Somerville Female Institute and the Willisten Academy.
The rate of tax for county purposes is 30 cents per 8100; road tax, 15 cents; school tax, 10 cents.
The religious denominations are Baptist, Methodist, Cumberland Presbyterian, Presbyterian, Episcopalian and Christian.
The Memphis and Charleston Railroad passes through the southern portion of the county, and a branch road runs to Somerville, and the Memphis branch of the L. &. N Railroad passes through the northwestern corner.
(Hand-book of Tennessee By A. W. Hawkins, Henry E. Colton 1882)